Shkin: The Far Outpost Of The Fight Against Terrorism in Afghanistan

AFGHANISTAN - OCTOBER 19: US Army soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division (Watertown, NY) mount up into Humvees October 19, 2003, as one of two US Army AH-64 Apache gunships flies toward the Pakistani border in Afghanistan. The 10th Miountain soldiers based in Shkin, Afghanistan were patrolling along the Afghan-Pakistani border looking for signs of infiltration from Pakistan, where al Qaeda and Taliban forces had come through and set up an attack on a 10th Mountain patrol September 29, 2003. The ensuing battle lasted nearly 12 hours and took place directly below a Pakistani Border Observation Post ( BOP). The 10th Mountain Division from Shkin lost one soldier. RPG's were launched from the Pakistani BOP. Shkin soldiers called in artillery, helicopters and fixed wing air support. Numerous Taliban and al Qaeda militants were killed and wounded though no exact numbers are available; remains were found. Today, the Shkin-based soldiers fired mortars, artillery and small arms to scare off any enemy that might be in the area and to send the Pakistani frontier guards a message. The southeastern Afghan-Pakistan border region is inundated with Taliban forces crossing over from South Waziristan, Pakistan, attempting to take control of the Pashtun provinces inside Afghanistan. US forces patrol heavily but are often given little cooperation from the Pakistani frontier troops, who are most likely infiltrated by Taliban and al Qaeda members. (Photo by Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images)